Embodiments of the present application relate generally to systems and methods for conducting biochemical reactions and, more particularly, to systems and methods in which a base instrument interacts with a removable cartridge to conduct reactions for at least one of sample preparation or biochemical analysis.
Various biochemical protocols involve performing a large number of controlled reactions on support surfaces or within designated reaction chambers. The controlled reactions may be conducted to analyze a biological sample or to prepare the biological sample for subsequent analysis. The analysis may identify or reveal properties of chemicals involved in the reactions. For example, in a cyclic-array sequencing assay (e.g., sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS)), a dense array of DNA features (e.g., template nucleic acids) are sequenced through iterative cycles of enzymatic manipulation. After each cycle, an image may be captured and subsequently analyzed with other images to determine a sequence of the DNA features. In another biochemical assay, an unknown analyte having an identifiable label (e.g., fluorescent label) may be exposed to an array of known probes that have predetermined addresses within the array. Observing chemical reactions that occur between the probes and the unknown analyte may help identify or reveal properties of the analyte.
There has been a general demand for systems that automatically perform assays, such as those described above, in which the system requires less work by, or involvement with, the user. Presently, most platforms require a user to separately prepare the biological sample prior to loading the biological sample into a system for analysis. It may be desirable for a user to load one or more biological samples into the system, select an assay for execution by the system, and have results from the analysis within a predetermined period of time, such as a day or less. At least some systems used today are not capable of executing certain protocols, such as whole genome sequencing, that provide data having a sufficient level of quality and within a certain cost range.